Epic Live Events

Kim England and Lisha Crytzer have been business partners for a long time, and after an event changed their business, they decided they wanted to offer the same experience for others. They launched the Fast Inc. Network, and decided to do their first event big, by featuring Shark Tanker, Daymond John. We had an open and honest conversation about their first event, and the things they are going to keep the same in the 2nd year, along with the things they're going to do differently. Just some of what we talked about: - The pros and cons of producing an event over 1,000 miles from their home base. - If hiring a 'celebrity name' is worth it for their event - The biggest lessons learned from taking on such a large event - What changes in the next year, and how their marketing approach will change. - Plus much more!

Vanessa McGovern is the CEO and Co-Owner of Gifted Travel Network, and the EVP of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at the Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs. In a nutshell, her companies are the ones to know if you're in the travel industry! Vanessa has used the Book More Travel Workshop over the years to first, build rapport with her current members by offering a place to connect with other members and learn more in-depth techniques in a live person event. She also uses it to attract new members, and in this podcast, she even mentioned that it may sometimes take years for people on her list to finally become part of the network. In this episode we discuss: - Why the long game is so important for your event - Tips and tricks for marketing your event - How to build and cultivate community at your events - How you can create another revenue stream if you're doing event (this one I had never even thought of before and was brilliant) - Plus much more! To connect with Vanessa and learn more about her workshop visit: http://www.travelbusinessu.com/book-more-travel-workshop/

Philip Taylor is well known in the financial industry, and he is the founder of the largest conference for financial industry influencers, FinCon.  Philip started a blog about his journey with money in 2007, and quickly grew his following. After seeing a need for a conference catering to his industry, he decided to take the reins and put it together. He set his first destination to Chicago, which was a central hub to some of the other big influencers. After having a little over 200 at his first event, he has grown it to over 1700 annual attendees! I had the honor of attending this year's FinCon, and it was a well-oiled machine. In this episode we talked:  How Philip built a brand from an event How he has involved his community to help grow to such an amazing number What it takes to continually involve your sponsors and have them coming back year after year Plus so much more! To learn more about FinCon visit --> https://finconexpo.com/

Podcast Movement is an event, that you guessed it, is strictly for podcasters. After being in the podcast community, Dan joined with three other people to fulfill the need of a large event. Without knowing if their concept was going to work, they turned to the community to see if the concept was one they should roll with. After not just proving the concept, but surpassing their initial goal in just a few hours, they knew they were on to something. Podcast Movement has now become THE podcasting event to attend for anyone who might be looking to start a podcast, to some of today's most seasoned veterans and biggest podcasting names. And they've done this all in just five short years. In this episode we talk about: - The power of community and how Dan and his team have cultivated truly an event for the community they serve - How he discovered a big issue in sales and one by one to invited previous attendees to come back and attend - Some ah-mazing tips on how to connect and build solid sponsorship relationships. - The keys to building a large event, and what was important for them to change, along with what they were determined to keep the same. Want to learn more about Podcast Movement - visit https://podcastmovement.com/  

Erin Joy has a long history of entrepreneurship and is the owner of Black Dress Partners. After doing smaller events, she knew she wanted to uplevel her brand and gain more awareness. However, she never dreamed the impact an event would have on her business. Now entering her 4th year, Erin shares the experience of putting on an event, why it's worth the extra effort, and why she plans on playing the long game. In this episode we discuss: - How doing an event didn't just take her business to another level, but in the words of one of her team members, another stratosphere - Why her community is everything, and how she uses her events to cultivate it - How she uses smaller events to fill her annual large event - Why focusing on excellence and your reputation are crucial - How to borrow the other's credibility of other influential brands while you're building your event. - Her secret to attracting attendees from other areas (and if you want to join it, you can here --> https://www.facebook.com/groups/MWBOGroup/) - Plus much more Check out the MidwestWBOConference.com for information on the next event on May 17th, 2018.

I'll be honest, I stressed over so many details that didn't matter when I should have been stressing more about this one detail. In this solo show, I cover the absolute most important thing that you must know and must be clear-cut about when putting together your first event. This one thing will determine EVERYTHING (and I really mean everything) when it comes to your event. What is it? Well, you'll have to listen to find out!

Chris Krimitsos is the founder and co-owner of Podfest Multimedia Expo and has years of experience running events. He has experience everything from local meetups to large international conferences, and we had an incredible discussion on what it takes to succeed with live events. In this episode you'll learn: - Where the idea for Podfest came from, and how it started and something local and grew to an event that attracts people from all over the world. - Chris' three revenue stream system that every event must have. - What are some of his must do's when it comes to creating and running the event. - His secrets to making sponsors happy and how to keep them coming back year after year. - How to attract sponsors in your first few years when you may not have the experience and social proof to get top dollar. - Plus much more! If you would love to learn more about Podfest (and bonus, that I will be there speaking, make sure you visit: http://podfest.us/2018/

Samantha Kelly has an incredible story. She started as a struggling single mother and business owner, but kept networking and building her community. After seeing events that she wished she could attend in Ireland and seeing a need, she decided to put together her first event in Ireland, which lead to Social Media Dublin (which she now has sold). Samantha now runs the Women's Inspire Network, which hosts several events throughout the year, including several larger-scale conferences. I loved this candid conversation as we covered: - Samantha's secret to building the concept first and building a community before the event (I absolutely love this one) - How she landed her first sponsors and kept growing year after year - How she overcame her fears and landed several big-name speakers at her first event - How events have transformed her business - Plus much more You can learn more about Samantha at: https://www.tweetinggoddess.com/ and The Women's Inspire Network at: https://www.womensinspirenetwork.com/ Ready to take on your own event? Download our free budget worksheet to get you rolling: http://bit.ly/epic_budget  

Natalie Eckdahl has hosted the BixChix podcast since 2014, and has built an incredible community of women CEO's through, almost 300 episodes. After running her own masterminds and 1:1 coaching, she was moved while speaking at an event attended only by women. It was after feeling that magic in the room when she decided to put together her own live event. We had a candid conversation about the ups and downs of running an event, and Natalie talked about how it all was worth it in the end. Here's just some of what we covered: - The moment she decided that the event was something she wanted to do, and the emotional roller coaster that came with it. - How even with missed expectations, the event was still beyond what she thought it could be. - How it changed her business along with the status of her brand. - Why she booked out, not just one year in advance, but several years in advance! - What she did to not just put together the right room, but to cultivate relationships in that room. - Lessons learned and what changes from year one to the following years. You can learn more about BixChix Live by visiting http://bizchix.com/live

Katie Krtimitsos is the owner and founder of Biz Women Rock. Her business is all about helping women business owners succeed and grow via a podcast, an academy, coaching, and as of last year, a Mastermind Retreat.  In this episode, Katie gets real about her mastermind retreat, now going into its second year.  - Why she waited a few years t - The strategy she uses for coming up with several days worth of content - How and why this event is a complete game changer for her business - How to prep your body and stamina to make it the full days - How to set up your current event to keep the growth happening year after year - How she gained the confidence to take this level of an event To learn more about Biz Women Rock, visit BizWomenRock.com. And for more details on her Retreat, visit http://bizwomenrock.com/retreat.

In today's episode, I'm switching things up and offering a quick tip of the lessons I wish I would have known when sating a business. Today's tip is about building your audience, and do you need an established audience to build an event or can you use the event to build your audience? The answer is yes to both, and I describe what you'll need to understand and do in order to grow your first event.

Chris Marr has a vast background in events.  He started out in a venue that hosted events, so he learned the ins and outs of events of all kinds. Events organization has been drilled into him for a long time. His first business started off as an agency and he always did events. His first event was a marketing workshop that started for - How he's grown his event part of his business from a small 12 person workshop, to now events that host hundreds of people. - Why live events were such a huge part of his business right away - How free events can build your business - The most important thing you need to do to get people to come to your event. - Chris' prediction on the one thing people will pay money for in the future. - How to build anticipation and sell out your event far in advance - How to create not just an event, but an amazing experience Recommended Books --> Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestley Interested in learning more about the Content Academy? Visit here --> Content Marketing Academy Interested in getting your first event together? Download our free budget worksheet to start planning -> Epic Live Events Worksheet

After seeing a need for a social media marketing conference in Dallas, Lissa Duty took it upon herself to take the lead and create one!   We talked about why she started the event, and how she been able to grow it from a local conference to attracting international speakers and guests. In this episode we discuss: - The strategies Lissa uses to promote her event. - How she attracts speakers from all over the world. - How she selects speakers. - What was one of her biggest surprises from putting together her own event. - And many more tips and tricks for putting together a successful event for over six years! To learn more about the Rocks Digital Marketing Conference, visit https://www.rocksdigital.com/

Paul Chapman is a Marketing Strategist and Co-Creator of Marketing Jump Leads.  He's also the author of the book The Game Changers (which you can find on Amazon here --> http://amzn.to/2iSBrZ6). After publishing his book, and wanting to create an event that ties with it, also helping business owners, he decided to put together the Game Changers Live event in just a few weeks. Paul shares his journey with us and tells us: - Why he wanted to add an event to his business - How his event ties into his business as a whole - Lessons learned from putting on an event in such a short amount of time - What he did in those few weeks he had to sell tickets (and what he would have done differently, had he had more time) - Why taking on the event paid off tenfold for him and his business. Want to check out what Game Changers Live is all about?  You can click here to get more info --> Game Changers Live Ready to start planning your event?  Grab our free budget spreadsheet to put it all together --> Live Events Budget Spreadsheet

Ursula Mentjes is the founder of Sales Coach Now and is a seasoned expert in running live events. She has produced all kinds of events ranging in small rooms to over 600 people and everything in-between. In this episode, we talked a lot about her signature event, Sales Camp.  This is an event she runs several times a year, that is integrated with her business.  Just some of what we discussed: - Why adding the live event was non-negotiable for her in her business - The difference the live event makes in how her customers learn and connect - How she maintains the stamina for a multi-day event - How the event is incorporated with all other aspects of her business, including her latest book launch. To connect with Ursula and learn more about Sales Camp, visit: Sales Coach Now. To grab a copy of her latest book, The Belief Zone, grab it on Amazon at: The Belief Zone Ready to start your own event or take your current one to the next level?  Download our free Live Events Budget Worksheet

After not having any luck finding a conference where Emily could network with fellow Freelancers, she did what any true entrepreneur does and did it herself. She lived in Austin, and knew she was on a time crunch because she would be backing up to SXSW, so she put together her entire first conference in 100 days and FREECON was officially born.   Now, just completing her 3rd year, Emily and I talk about: - How she put together her first event - Why the details mean everything to her, and why she feels they're important - What's the most important thing to do when landing large  sponsors -  Her biggest lessons learned as she has grown from year to year - An incredible piece of advice for those who are jumping in To find out more about the Freelance Conference, visit: http://freelanceconference.com/ Interested in jumping into live events?  Download our FREE live event budget worksheet!  bit.ly/epic_budget  

Tim Elliot and his business partner decided they didn't have enough quality marketing events in their area. So they did what any great entrepreneur would do, and they created one. Tim shares his journey of how and why they decided to do one, along with the things he learned along the way, plus so much more. In this episode we discuss; How they went from talking about the idea of the event in a pub to actually making it happen. The biggest thing he never expected to happen. Why three weeks before the event he almost pulled the plug The biggest takeaways he got from putting together his first event What changes he will make in 2018. Why it was all worth doing. Learn more about MarketEd Live by clicking here --> MarketEd Live Ready to start planning your event?  Download our Free Budget Worksheet by clicking here --> Budget Worksheet

Tena Pettis is the owner and founder of Tenacious, among several other entrepreneurial ventures. After seeing a need in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for an event, she decided to take on the challenge by putting together The Before. Conference. Now getting to launch this venture into its 3rd year, Tena shared with us some of her biggest lessons learned, and why she loves doing events. In this episode we discuss: Why Tena decided to do a live event and the experience (or lack of) she had putting on something at such a large scale How Tena set-up the event to make her money back, and the different ways she makes income from it How she used free masterminds to hand pick her attendees and keep the integrity of the room at a maximum How many tickets she gave away free to her first event (you’ll be shocked by this answer), and the cool story behind it. The biggest lesson she learned and the mistake she made in year 2 vs. year The details she refused to overlook, and the difference they made The biggest piece of prep work she did before ever creating the event, and how that drives every decision she made You can learn more about The Before Conference by clicking here: The Before. Conference Are you ready to learn how to knock your live event out of the park? Download our FREE budget planner to learn how. http://bit.ly/epic_budget

Events almost broke me, in more ways than one. But even through the stress of taking on such a large initiative, it paid off in ways I could never have imagined. In this very first episode, I get super honest with the good and the bad of live events, and why I wanted to create this podcast. If you're ready to start planning your first event, or if you would like to learn how to earn more money from your event, download our Budget Spreadsheet by clicking: http://bit.ly/epic_budget